मया प्रसन्नेन तवार्जुनेदं रूपं परं दर्शितमात्मयोगात्। तेजोमयं विश्वमनन्तमाद्यं यन्मे त्वदन्येन न दृष्टपूर्वम् ॥
mayā prasannena tavārjunedaṃ rūpaṃ paraṃ darśitamātmayogāt| tejomayaṃ viśvamanantamādyaṃ yanme tvadanyena na dṛṣṭapūrvam ||
Through My own yogic power I showed you this radiant, infinite, primeval cosmic form — which no one else has ever seen!
Word by word (3)
- mayā prasannena tavārjuna
- — By Me, being gracious/pleased toward you, O Arjuna · Mayā = by Me (instrumental of aham). Prasannena = being gracious, being pleased (instrumental of prasanna = clear, gracious, pleased; same root as prasīda of V25/V37/V45 — Arjuna petitioned prasīda and Krishna responds with prasannena). The answer to Arjuna's repeated prasīda (be gracious) requests of V25, V37, V45 is now given explicitly: I showed this to you because I was prasanna (gracious/pleased) toward you. The cosmic vision was not a cosmic event that happened to Arjuna — it was a gift of divine grace. Tavārjuna = 'to you, O Arjuna' (tava = your/to you; arjuna = O Arjuna, vocative). This is the fourth time in Ch.11 that Krishna directly addresses Arjuna (V5: paśya me pārtha; V8: na tu māṃ śakyase draṣṭum; V47; V49). Each address marks a turning point.
- ātmayogāt rūpaṃ paraṃ darśitam
- — through My own yogic power this supreme form was shown · Ātmayogāt = through one's own yoga/power (ātma = own self; yoga = union, power, mystic power; ātmayogāt = from/through one's own yogic power = by sovereign/divine self-power). This phrase is crucial: the cosmic vision was not simply given to Arjuna because of his merit — it was a SOVEREIGN ACT of divine self-power. Krishna's prasanna (grace) + ātmayogāt (own power) = the dual conditions: it required both the will to show (grace toward Arjuna) AND the power to show (divine yogic capacity). Neither Vedic learning nor tapas could produce this (V48 explains) — only divine grace through divine power.
- tejomayaṃ viśvam anantam ādyaṃ / yan me tvadanyena na dṛṣṭapūrvam
- — Radiant, universal, infinite, primeval — which of Mine had never before been seen by anyone other than you · Tejomayam = consisting of tejas/radiance (tejo-maya = made of tejas = full of radiant divine fire; maya = consisting of/filled with). Viśvam = universal/all-encompassing. Anantam = infinite, endless. Ādyam = primeval, primal, original (ādi = beginning; ādya = being at the beginning = primal). Four qualifiers: radiant + all-encompassing + infinite + primeval = the complete characterization of the cosmic form. Tvadanyena = by anyone other than you (tvad = you; anya = other; anyena = instrumental = 'by another'). Na dṛṣṭapūrvam = not seen before (the same adṛṣṭapūrvam of V45 echoed back: Arjuna called it 'unprecedented' and Krishna confirms: 'which had never been seen before by any other than you'). The cosmic vision was unique and singular — given once, to one person, by divine grace.
Krishna responds to Arjuna's confession and petition. He confirms: I showed you this supreme cosmic form through My own yogic power, because I was graciously pleased with you — and this radiant, universal, infinite, primeval form has never been seen by anyone else.
A modern analogy
Like a master artist or teacher saying: 'I showed you something I've shown to no one else, because I trusted you with it — and because I had the power to reveal it to you in that way.' The gift was both personal (grace toward you) and sovereign (my own power to give it).
Sit with this: The cosmic vision came through divine grace (prasannena) + divine power (ātmayogāt) — not through Arjuna's spiritual merit. Has something profound ever happened to you that felt like pure gift rather than earned result? How did you hold that?
V47's mayā prasannena + ātmayogāt establishes the epistemological ground for the entire cosmic vision: it was a grace-event, not a merit-event. This distinction is fundamental to the Gita's theology. The Vedic path (V48's vedayajñādhyayana) operates on a karma-prayāga model: accumulated merit produces results. V47-V48 together establish a different model: the direct divine vision is not producible by merit accumulation — it is a sovereign gift of prasāda (grace). This is the Gita's preparation for V55's final verse (mat-karma-kṛt mat-paramo mad-bhaktaḥ = do My work, devoted to Me, My bhakta = the path is bhakti, not ritual/merit-accumulation).
Bhakti lens
V47's prasannena (being gracious/pleased toward you) is bhakti's answer to the question: why does the divine reveal itself? Not because of earned merit but because of divine love (prasāda = the divine's own gracious inclination). The bhakti tradition grounds the entire devotional practice here: if the vision requires grace, then the practice is not effort toward a goal but the cultivation of a relationship in which grace becomes possible. The devotee's responsibility is not to 'earn' the vision but to remain 'available' (open, surrendered, trusting) for the grace when it comes.
Public-domain translations (4) compare all →
By Me, gracious to thee, O Arjuna, this Supreme Form has been shown — by my sovereign power — full of splendour, the All, the Boundless, the Original Form of Mine, never before seen by any other than thyself. [1]
Graciously have I shown to thee, O Arjuna, this Form supreme, by My own Yoga power, this resplendent, primeval, infinite, universal Form of Mine, which hath not been seen before by anyone else. [4]
Yea! thou hast seen, Arjuna! because I loved thee well, The secret countenance of Me, revealed by mystic spell, Shining, and wonderful, and vast, majestic, manifold, Which none save thou in all the years had favour to behold. [7]
By my favour, O Arjuna, this supreme form of mine has been shown to thee by my own power — full of glory, universal, infinite, and primal — which has not been seen before by any other. [13]
This verse speaks to
Where this thread continues
Your natural eyes cannot see Me — I give you the divine eye; behold My supreme Yoga-power.
Tusked mouths blazing like fires of Time — losing all direction, all peace; be gracious, O Deveśa, O World's Abode!
Not by Vedas, sacrifice, gifts, rituals, or harsh austerities can this form be seen in human worlds — only by you!
For those who worship Me with undivided thought, always steadfast — I carry what they lack and guard what they have.
My delusion is gone — dispersed by Your compassionate words on the Self and its deep mysteries.
Instrument, offering, fire, act, destination — all Brahman. One absorbed in Brahman-action reaches Brahman alone.